From sketchbook to digital paintbox

I love sketching, especially faces.  I always have.

But even more fun, is when I upload artwork into my computer, and get lost in the world of my digital paintbox.

Art Deco Inspiration

I love entering the weekly fabric contest on Spoonflower.  I especially love it lately because I have been challenging myself by using my own artwork and working on my surface design skills.

I took an original portrait design and used it in the ART DECO theme contest.

The contest required us to only use four colors, so this is the design I submitted.   I have always loved the Art Deco period and especially those magnificent Vogue magazines.  the 1920's was an amazing Fashion design era.  After all this was the era of Coco Chanel.

Coco Chanel said:

"Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only.  Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening."

I think that this is especially true of the Art Deco period.  The art, music and fashion was so amazing.  One of the reasons that I love the movie, Midnight in Paris is that I can so identify with the character played by Owen Wilson.  Truly the people he met were among my favorite authors, writers and performers.

She is called ART DECO MAGAZINE 1923.  I actually ended up creating so many different versions because it was so much fun.  But this one and the full color version, which I called ART DECO FASION MAGAZINE.

This contest will run the first week of February.  Now I have to design something for next week's contest.  Hope you enjoy the music.  I thought this post deserved a little bit of Cole Porter.  You Do Something To Me.

Pumpkin Art

This time of year I love painting pumpkins.

and while I'm at it, I love creating patterns for some fabric.

Have a Great Pumpkin day.

Inspiration Boards and Words of Inspiration

I have been sketching, printing and designing all kinds of inspiration boards.

This fabric started as a photo,

Then I used photoshop elements and lots of layers to produce a fabric design, which I then printed by Spoonflower.

I covered a canvas bulletin board with the fabric and had it professionally framed.

I just a had to add some Inspiration Board Jewelry and decorative pushpins.  I have been making rosettes from Vintage flower petals designed for millinery with a large upholstery pin for the center.  Finding tassels to match the boards and all kinds of wonderful notions that might add just the right embellishment.

So, now my new shop I call A WORD OF INSPIRATION is open.

My plan is to add BAGS OF INSPIRATION by theme to help make inspiration boards sparkle.

Inspiration Boards and New Designs

I have been working on lots of new fabric designs. Click on the image below to see it in fabric:


This is an inspiration board that I used to show my original photograph and then using layers to create this design I call Parisian Shadows.  I am using Photoshop Elements 9

The Sketchbook Challenge

My friend Karen from Creativity Cake told me about The Sketchbook Challenge.

The project began on January 1, 2011.  Each month there is a theme.

This month the theme is OPPOSITES.

There is a wonderful group of women hosting the challenge and offering tips, tutorials, and techniques.  There are also prizes awarded from some pretty amazing sponsors.

The Sketchbook challenge blog has a wonderful post about The Sketch-In.



When I saw the theme for February, I knew just what I would sketch, then using ink and watercolor...




My Underwood Vintage typewriter and my Apple iPad.



Little did I know when I used to type on my manual typewriter using correct-a-type...



that someday I would be working on an Apple iPad.

So, my entry for February OPPOSITES is...

An Apple iPad and a Vintage Underwood typewriter.  If you would like to join in for sketching fun, just click HERE.

The song for this post always makes me happy, just like sketching with my paintbrush.  Mindy Gledhill sings Anchor.

Photoshop Techniques

I just joined Kim Klassen's skinny-mini Photoshop class. I am having so much fun, that I also joined her on-going workshop with backgrounds called The Test Kitchen.

I think I am in love with backgrounds. Kim is amazing.  Here I have enhanced the photo even further.

In the illustration above, Kim teaches you how to use her lovely backgrounds and use words.